A new study by University of Utah biologists taps data from 22,000 birds captured at Bonderman Field Station near Moab to reveal changes in how they replace their feathers. Climate change is not just disrupting songbirds’ breeding and migration schedules. The timing of their fall molt is occurring earlier every year.

As global warming alters ecosystems, the need to predict the reorganization of Earth’s biodiversity has become urgent. New research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America May 20, suggests that neglecting the ecological differences between male and female plants can lead to inaccurate biodiversity forecasts. The study led by Jacob Moutouama, a postdoctoral research associate at Rice University and lead author, highlights the need to refine biodiversity forecasts to account for the sex-specific responses to Earth’s rapidly changing climate.

New research could improve the efficiency of electrochemical carbon-dioxide capture and release by six times and cut costs by at least 20 percent. MIT researchers added nanoscale filtering membranes to a carbon-capture system, separating the ions that carry out the capture and release steps, and enabling both steps to proceed more efficiently.

The Arctic is one of the coldest places on Earth, but in recent decades, the region has been rapidly warming, at a rate three to four times faster than the global average. However, current climate models have been unable to account for this increased pace. Now, researchers at Kyushu University have reported in a study, published April 29 in Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research, that clouds may be to blame.

A novel analysis suggests more than 3,500 animal species are threatened by climate change and also sheds light on huge gaps in fully understanding the risk to the animal kingdom.

Corals are the architects of reefs throughout tropical seas, providing protection and sustenance for the species that depend on them. Coral reefs protect coastlines from storm surge, put tourist dollars in coffers, and provide cultural richness in the way of food and fishing practices.

The loss of coral ecosystems is a critical problem that has propelled coral scientists into action to save species that may not survive the rapid pace of climate change and environmental degradation.